Dayton knocks off Ohio State

Ohio State forward Sam Thompson, who led the sixth-seeded Buckeyes with 18 points, shows his dismay as the 11th-seeded Dayton Flyers rejoice over their upset victory in Buffalo, N.Y.

Photo: McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Aaron Craft's career at Ohio State ended with a thud Thursday in Buffalo, N.Y.

The senior guard was left lying on his back in the paint looking up at the rafters after his driving 10-foot jumper rolled off the rim, sealing 11th-seeded Dayton's 60-59 victory over the sixth-seeded Buckeyes in the second round.

“I just wanted to do everything I could to help our team win, and down the stretch I couldn't do that today,” Craft said. “I can take the blame for that.”

Craft finished with 16 points and four steals, upping his Big Ten Conference-record total to 337. But he couldn't steal a victory in what became the Buckeyes' earliest tournament exit since a first-round 74-72 overtime loss to Siena in 2009.

Vee Sanford hit a layup with 3.8 seconds left to seal the win for Dayton (24-10) in a showdown of Ohio schools separated by just 75 miles.

The basket came some 12 seconds after Craft had put the Buckeyes ahead by making a reverse layup.

It just so happened that Sanford scored by getting a step around Craft, a two-time Big Ten defensive player of the year.

Sam Thompson scored 18 points for Ohio State (25-10).

Florida 67, Albany 55: Dorian Finney-Smith scored 16 points, most of them on dunks, and the top-seeded Gators (33-2) used a second-half surge to beat the 16th-seeded Great Danes (19-15) in Orlando, Fla.

Coach Billy Donovan's team sleepwalked through the first half, swapping the lead back and forth with pesky Albany, but the Gators' bench provided a much-needed spark.

Finney-Smith, the Southeastern Conference's sixth man of the year, was 6-of-10 shooting. Freshman guard Kasey Hill, who wasn't sure he would be able to play because of turf toe, chipped in 10 points.

DJ Evans led Albany with 21 points and seven rebounds.

Pittsburgh 77, Colorado 48: Talib Zanna scored 16 of his 18 points in the opening half, helping the ninth-seeded Panthers (26-9) build a huge lead in their romp over the Buffaloes (23-12) in Orlando.

Pittsburgh shot 51 percent and played stifling defense.

Colorado was eager to make amends for an early exit from the tournament a year ago, but had no answers for the 6-foot-9 Zanna. The Pitt center made six of seven shots in the first half, and the Panthers didn't have any difficulty finishing off the overwhelmed Buffaloes.

Syracuse 77, W. Michigan 53: Backcourt mates Trevor Cooney and Tyler Ennis combined for 34 points and the defense of the Orange (28-5) clamped down on the Broncos (23-10) in Buffalo.

The third-seeded Orange forced 11 turnovers in the opening half and scored 13 points off them in running out to a double-digit lead before the midpoint of the period.

Cooney led the Orange with 18 points and Ennis had 16 points and six assists.